Jolenta Greenberg and Kristen Meinzer #651

This is the first time in What Matters Most history we had TWO incredible woman on at the same time. Jolenta Greenberg and Kristen Meinzer blew me away with their wit and wisdom as we talk about their wonderful new book, HOW TO BE FINE: What We Learned from Living by the Rules of 50 Self-Help Books. We also covered a lot of other topics like what it’s like to be a woman trying to make it in comedy. This one was really a lot of fun.

Every two weeks, Jolenta Greenberg and Kristen Meinzer live by a different self-help book, following all the rules down to the letter: eating what the books say to eat, talking as the books say to talk; walking, sleeping, decorating, and interacting with their husbands according to each book’s doctrine. And they record it all for a hot reality-show podcast called By the Book. Before their podcast became such a hit, they simply thought the idea of trying out new self-help books and living by their rules would make for a good laugh. Little did they know that all these books would actually change their lives. Now, Jolenta and Kristen want to share their experiences with listeners and non-listeners alike in HOW TO BE FINE: What We Learned from Living by the Rules of 50 Self-Help Books (on sale March 17, 2020).

HOW TO BE FINE lays out the solid takeaways of things that worked, gives real talk on the practices haven’t, and takes a deep dive into the philosophies they wish more books spent time exploring.

JOLENTA GREENBERG is a comedian, podcaster, pop culture commentator, and self-proclaimed reality television historian. As a performer, her stand-up and storytelling have been featured all over NYC. She’s a Moth StorySLAM winner and from 2014-2016 she held a comedic residency at Pete’s Candy Store in Brooklyn. Her credits include hosting Stitcher’s By The Book and We Love You (And So Can You), story editing for Risk!, and producing for Freakonomics Radio. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

KRISTEN MEINZER is an award-winning host, producer, and culture critic. Her hosting credits include Stitcher’s By The Book; Stitcher’s We Love You (And So Can You); CNN’s Lisa, Sandra & Kristen Go To The Movies; Panoply’s When Meghan Met Harry; and WNYC’s Movie Date. Her producing credits include Happier with Gretchen Rubin, Girlboss Radio, Food 52’s Burnt Toast, The Sporkful, The Real Simple podcasts, Vanity Fair’s Little Gold Men, and other award-winning shows. Kristen is also the author of So You Want to Start a Podcast (William Morrow, 2019). She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

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